Mr. Shakoor Saafir: is a French Muslim of American origin. He engages in discussions with Atheists and Christians and has some articles under his name mainly dealing with Islamism and Zionism.

MR. SHAKOOR'S REBUTTAL

Interesting! An entire book is revealed and Dave says there's no proof for Allah's existence. Allah sends multiple prophets and Dave says there's a lack of evidence. There may be a "lack" of evidence for Dave's common sense but that doesn't mean he has no sense. "Lack of evidence" doesn't prove non-existence.

Dave has said Allah's divine protection of the Quran [15:9] doesn't exist. Some of his arguments against the Quran are actually divine examples of protection. If we bring up the story of the Satanic Verses, we see the angel Gabriel was sent to correct Muhammad (p). This is one example of divine protection.

When we read about the hadith in which Aishah narrates that a goat ate 2 surahs, we see abrogated verses being destroyed by a goat that would not be added to the quran. This is another example of divine protection! We read in the Quran that the holy Quran is preserved in a tablet.

"But they who disbelieve are in (persistent) denial, And Allah surrounds them from beyond.yet, it is a glorious Quran in a preserved tablet."[85:19-22]

This is yet another example of divine protection!The Quran was not only protected in the memory of the believers, it was also written down by scribes during the prophet's life. Zaid bin Thabit, one of the chief scribes relates: ‘I used to write down the revelation for the Holy Prophet (PBUH). When the revelation came to him he felt intense heat and drops of perspiration used to roll down his body like pearls. When this state was over I used to fetch a shoulder bone or a piece of something else. He used to go on dictating and I used to write it down. When I finished writing the sheer wait of transcription gave me the feeling that my leg would break and I would not be able to walk anymore. Anyhow when I finished writing, he would say, ‘Read!’ and I would read it back to him. If there was an omission or error he used to correct it and then let it be brought before the people.’ (Mu’jam Al-Tabarani Al-Awst 4/445 Hadith 1985. Authenticated by Al-Haithmi in Majma’ Al-Zawaid 8/257)

So we see not only was the Quran divinely protected but memorised and written down duruing the prophet's life.

Different versions of the Qur'an weren't told to people. This is incorrect. One arhuf (dialect) was originally revealed by Gabriel but it was allowed to be recited 7 different ways according to dialect. Ubayy bin Ka‘b related that the Messenger of God was near the pond of Banu Ghifar when Gabriel came to him and said: God has commanded you to recite to your people the Qur`an in one harf. Upon this he said: I ask God for pardon and forgiveness; my people are not capable of that. He then came for the second time and said: God has commanded you that you should recite the Qur`an to your people in harfayn (two modes). Upon this he said: I ask pardon and forgiveness from God, my people are not capable of that. He (Gabriel) came for the third time and said: God has commanded you to recite the Qur`an to your people in three ahruf. Upon this he said: I ask pardon and forgiveness from God, my people are not capable of that. He then came to him for the fourth time and said: God has commanded you to recite the Qur`an to your people in seven ahruf, and in whichever harf they would recite, they would be right. [Muslim]

Dave asserts that the Qur'an could've been lost because of the heavy casualties at the Battle of Yamana. This is also incorrect and reflects only the thinking of Abu Bakr (ra). The Quran was previously written. There is a tradition that states Abu Bakr wasn't the first to compile the Quran but a freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah actually collected the Quran, not just in written form but also to memory.

It is reported from Ibn Buraidah who said:

"The first of those to collect the Qur'an into a mushaf (codex) was Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifah". [Ibid., citing as-Suyuti, Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur'an, p. 135]

Salim is one of the men Muhammad recommended learning the quran from as we see in the hadith.

Another tradition also confirms that besides Masud, Salim, Mu'ad, and Ka'b, there were at least two others who had also collected the Qur'an: Anas is reported to have said: Four persons collected the Qur'an during the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and all of them were Ansar: Muadh Bin Jabal, Ubayy Bin Kab, Zaid Bin Thabit, Abu Zaid. Qatada said: Anas, who was Abu Zaid? He said: He was one of my uncles. [Sahih Muslim, Number 6029]

Also, the fact that Uthman ordered other qurans destroyed throughout the community testifies to the fact that the quran was indeed compiled from before he had done so, not just in memory but in written form. Muhammad's copy of the Quran was in his memory. He used to recite the Quran every year with the angel Gabriel. Also, there is evidence that Aishah also had a written uncompiled Quran. The evidence comes from the hadith were a goat ate the abrogated verses in the Quran.

We've talked about the San'a Manuscript before. The numbering system is arbitrary. A change in the exact numbering system of the verses don't reflect a change in the Quran's words. Wording has not changed, there is only a difference in the spelling of some words due to vowels being omitted but the words' meanings remain the same. Dave alleges some verses were written in a different order. Only some surahs (chapters) were written in a different order in the San'a Qur'an. Writing chapters in a different order does not invalidate the Quran. Dave has confused this point. There are at least 2 other Qurans where the chapters have been written according to chronological order. This does not change the message of the Quran.

Dave has tried to say the Quran has become corrupted through a differing of sects (interpretation through sects). The hadiths and political turmoil are partly reponsible for this. The Quran is not corrupt but its interpretation is corrupted by any who wish to quote out of context or irrespective of the historical context it was revealed in. Many people do this regardless of their level of understanding. It is important to constantly seek knowledge and understand Islamic history, the tafsir, the seerah, the hadiths, and how the sects have arose over the years. The Qur'an will remain the same but we must strive to understand it the best we can.

Muhammad (p) prophesied 73 sects of Islam of only which only 1 would be correct. So no matter how many different interpretations of Islam we see, there can only be one true sect or interpretation of Islam. All the other roads will lead people astray.

I will leave the refutation of Kurien's and Ninad's essays to my comrades in faith Saaib and Mushafiq. Salam!

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